Gingersnap Challenge *Vintage Hues*

This is my entry for the GS *Vintage hues* challenge. I used a photo of the wedding of my Great Uncle Benny, taken in 1927. My Mum is the bridesmaid second from the left - the only one who is smiling and evidently enjoying herself! - and sitting next to her on the left is her older sister, who was nearly always scowling... The bride and groom don't look too happy either! But it is a photo I like very much, and it is hanging in my hall together with some other reminders of the *good* (?) old days....
I used an embossed paper for the background, which has been distressed with antique linen, stormy skies and chipped saphire, as were the flowers - made from the tattered florals die. The centres are from prima. The flourishes have been cut by hand out of sheet of paper from as SEI stack, that took the longest, working with a little pair of nail scissors.... The alphas are cut with a Sizzix die, *Cherish* has been cut with a Bosskut die. Was, as usual, fun to make, thanks for looking!

Challenges - *The Stamp Man* & *Simon Says*

Both these challenges are Tim Holtz and distress themed. *The Stamp Man Challenge* has to have something TH in it and a Xmas theme. I made a black and white tag, as it is very frosty outside today, so seems to fit. The black tag has been cut with a TH die, as have the winged heart and bird die cuts. The Santa is an old Sizzix die. I left the chipboard white, and distressed them with silver & soot black stickles. The tag background has been stamped with a text stamp using clear ink and white embossing powder. Added some die cut white lace at the bottom and a silver ribbon.

The *Simon Says* Challenge was to use distress inks. I cut a tag from cardboard, which I distressed by partly pulling off the top layer. Then I used distress inks in crushed sage, Victorian Velvet and tubled glass, before embossing with a mixture of bronze and clear embossing powder, and perfect pearls in pink, gold, interference blue and green. Added a TH timepiece and a nostalgic angel cut out. The pearls are from Prima.

Gothic Arches Challenge *Harvest*

For this triptich arch I used a harvest photo with pumpkins and corn-cobs, which I blurred a little in my photo programme before printing it, to give it a softer look and to emphasise the colours more than the objects. Cut an arch out of embossed paper, which I distressed with TH ancient linen and wild honey. The photo was cut to match, but half a centimeter smaller all round. Added a lace doiley which was distressed with the same inks and some scroll, bird and flower motives. Was fun to make, as always, and successfully kept me from doing my h*******k! Thanks for looking!

How to scare your parcel postie without really trying….

One day this week I decided to do some crafting before I got showered and dressed. Needed to get some sanding and painting done, so pulled a sweatshirt over my pjs and got to work. The work took longer than I had thought, thus, when the doorbell rang just after 2 p.m. I was – shame on me!! – still not properly dressed.
Before I reveal more, I wanted to say that I have a good friend B. And she recently gave me a sort of miner’s light, with a stretchy band to fix it round my head. As I have had a lot of eye operations, I don’t see very well, and need a good source of light directed exactly there where I am working.
So far so good.


I was dressed in my grey and white striped pjs, with pink mice on the top, a bright red sweatshirt with alpine embroidery, my grey and white animal slippers – always a pretty sight! And my head-mounted spotlight. Oh, and sage green fingers from painting, and the foam brush held firmly in my left hand. Not really looking my best.



OK, I pressed the intercom, and a voice asked me if I could accept a parcel for a neighbour who wasn’t home. Sure, I said! The Postie staggered up the stairs carrying a giant parcel, and stared at me as if I was an apparition from Mars.
*You been looking for something?* he asked.
*No, why?*
*You’ve got a spotlight on your head.*
*I was just painting.*
*Really?* he said rather doubtfully.
Hmm, I had forgotten it was switched on. No problem. Pressed the switch, and asked,
*Better?*
He grinned all over his face.
*Now you’re on blink modus, Lady. Better be careful, we’re near the airport. A plane might land on the house!*
With that he gave me the thing to sign, dumped the parcel, and disappeared with leaps and bounds down the stairs.
Then I went and looked at myself in the mirror.
OMG!!!!
PS: Another parcel came today, this time for me. He didn’t ring my bell, but gave it to the lady downstairs.
And the moral of the story?
There isn’t one. At my age, and especially at home, I can wear what I like, when I like. If the Postie doesn’t like it, that’s his problem!
PPS: The doorbell just sounded. I’M BUSY!!!

Some Quick distressed Xmas cards....

As I love my TH *on the edge* houses die, I decided to use it for some quick cards. Some have a distressed background, using different blue inks together with Victorian velvet and wild honey. Some have been stamped with a sentiment or some small motives, others have some angel and/or star die cuts. Some have just been applied to a wine-red background. I will be experimenting more with this theme at the weekend, as it really is time to get those cards done....Thanks for looking!

Woohoo - I am a *Ginger Gem*!!!

Today I woke up to a freezing, grey November day -not a good incentive to get out of bed. But I did, staggered to the kitchen to make my first coffee and settled at my computer for *breakfast* - coffee and computer. I gave up toast because of the detrimental effect of crumbs in the keyboard, although I will admit to an occasional currant bun, they don't crumble so much! But not today.
Switched the computer on, looked through my mails and usual sites, and saw that I had been chosen to be a *Ginger Gem* for my entry *Colours of Autumn* - woohoo! Last week *Simon Says* and this week *Ginger Gems*!!A good start to my day, and a big incentive to keep on meeting new people and trying new things in crafting!

LIIU Challenge No 6 - Recycling

Now, for this challenge I was planning on recycling a small drawer to make a little show-box. Well, I am still thinking of recycling it, but need to work on it much longer than I had planned, so decided to do something else. Bought a rather tatty wreath in a charity shop for 50 cents. Took it home, cleaned it, and pulled off the few remaining roses, they must have been the last roses of summer! Then I sprayed it with snow spray to make it look wintery. You will be pleased to hear that the table and part of the floor also looked wintery - moral - put down some old paper first, or you need to be cleaning afterwards! Then I took the silver ribbon off a box of Xmas candles I had bought, straightened it, and wound it around, before winding some wire with mini-baubles around, too. Used a hot glue gun to get it all stuck. The flowers have been die-cut with TH *Tattered florals*, put together, distressed, and given a bit of bling with silver stickles. The centre has been made with a mini mirror circle. Stuck them on with the glue-gun, too. Then I stuck on the little sleeping angel, which was part of a Xmas bouquet last year. The card at the bottom has been distressed with TH inks, the houses are a TH on the edge die, Santa and the stars have been stamped, the birds have been cut with a Martha Stewart punch, and the tree and sentiment have been hand doodled. Was fun to make, even if it wasn't quite what I had planned, but it is all recycled, total cost 2,50€, and I still have a lot of snow spray left....Thanks for looking, I'm off to clean the floor and table in the kitchen!